Rootskeeper advocates against corporate control of our government and money in politics. Currently our focus is fighting toxic fossil fuel extraction methods and its impacts on public health. We do so by developing grassroots leaders and networks and educating the general public. In support of this, we also plan and carry out strategic, high profile actions that move the needle towards a 100% renewable clean energy economy, and a just and sustainable future for all people.

Our Programs

During the 2015-16 legislative session, the oil industry spent an historic 36.1 million dollars to lobby California lawmakers. Over the past 10 years, the industry has spent $260 million to influence California politics, more than any other interest group. This spending has allowed this industry to defeat any meaningful legislation that might curb their ability to drill and pollute.

During this time, the state of California performed independent studies which had notable findings on the toxicity of oil operations and made strong recommendations to protect public health, none of which have been implemented, leaving the general public vulnerable to contamination and toxic exposure. That's why we are calling on our elected officials to stop taking dirty money from the oil industry, and to prioritize public health over industry profits. Join the movement to get Oil Money Out and People Power In!

In The Central Valley, oilfiled wastewater, which is filled with toxic chemicals, is being using to irrigate our food crops. Plans for the expansion of this practice are currently underway. There has been no comprehensive independent testing conducted to ensure these crops or the farmworkers who work with them are protected from the hundreds of dangerous chemicals used in oil operations, some of which are carcinogenic and toxic. We're tired of being lab rats in an oil and gas experiment, so we're calling on Governor Brown and the State Water Board to end this practice immediately.

We envision a California powered by 100% clean energy, and free of the toxic effects of extreme energy extraction and disposal. Show your support by signing the pledge, which calls for human health buffer zones around all oil and gas development, an end to extreme fossil fuel extraction like fracking, an immediate stop to the practice of dumping toxic oil wastewater into federally protected aquifers, and an end to the use of oilfield wastewater being used as irrigation for California food.

building a movement

The hard-won ban on fracking in New York demonstrates how well-trained grassroots activists can build power to win seemingly impossible, against-the-odds campaigns. Members of our management team were there, and helped design and implement the campaign that fostered this historic win. Now that New York has paved the way, California has a similar opportunity to stop toxic forms of extreme extraction, and get the state on a path to real sustainability and 100% renewable energy. But to seize this moment, we’ll need to apply the lessons learned in New York and mobilize grassroots activists to build power in different ways, and on a far greater scale, than ever before.